Apple Wants TV Channel Apps Service by Christmas: Report

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With all focus turned to the iPad 3 announcement happening on March 7, the New York Post is starting sparks about Apple being in negotiations to create a streaming TV service that'll make TV channels more app-like.

The New York newspaper claims that Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddie Cue — the guy in charge of iTunes content — has been "leading talks with content providers, which have largely balked at the tech giant's efforts to exert control over all aspects of the video service, including pricing" for months.

Apple's Spaceship Headquarters

The grand goal is to create a simple video streaming service that'll either bundle TV channels together for a subscription (like that of traditional cable) or sell each channel as a separate app.

Apple currently only allows renting and buying of iTunes TV shows.

Images from MacWorld

For years, tech pundits have said that the cable subscription model is going to bottom out because of the exponential growth for streaming content over the Internet.

Why subscribe to a cable service and only have access to a group of channels, when we can just subscribe to the ones we want and create our own bundle à la carte?

If Apple has its ways, the latter might not be a dream. Of course, the problem is that the content providers don't want to hand control over to Apple. According to the report, Apple is facing an uphill battle in this regard, as Steve Jobs is no longer around to use his reality distortion field to bully companies into submission.

The timing for a release for the service is suspect too as that's roughly when Apple is expected to release its Apple HDTV with Siri-like controls.

Rumors are rumors, so take all of this with a grain of salt, or you'll find yourself extremely disappointed if it all falls apart.